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USU Welcomes New Senior Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences

Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014

Dawn Kirby has joined the USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences as its new senior associate dean.

Utah State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHaSS) has appointed a new senior associate dean after a nationwide search. Dawn Kirby will focus her efforts on administering faculty tenure and promotion, mentoring faculty and assisting with student scholarships and award programs.

Kirby received her undergraduate degree in English education from the University of Georgia (UGA), her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Georgia State University and her doctorate in English education from UGA. She taught high school for nine years and served as English Department chair of a suburban high school for four years. She has taught at numerous universities, public and private, in Georgia, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Colorado.

“We are very excited to be returning to the West,” Kirby said. “And I’m excited by the sense of community I see here in Logan and in the college. Dean John C. Allen has a clear vision for the college and I’m excited to be a part of his team and help move things forward.”

Kirby comes to USU from a position as a tenured professor of English and English education at Kennesaw State University (KSU) in metro Atlanta, Ga. She was an administrator there since 2010, served as an acting chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department, assistant dean and associate dean. Her research agenda includes studying the impact of memoir on young adults’ self-efficacy; the effect of mentoring on junior faculty members’ success in achieving tenure and promotion; and the effect of writing and accountability groups on faculty members’ scholarly publications in terms of quantity, quality and significance. She joined CHaSS at USU as senior associate dean Jan. 6, 2014.

“I’ve never been an Aggie before,” Kirby quipped recalling the team mascots from her previous postings. “I’ve been a Bulldog and even a Fighting Owl, but never an Aggie. I’m looking forward to it.”

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences is one of USU’s largest and its professors teach the majority of the university’s general education requirements, such as English, foreign languages and history. It is home to six academic departments (English, History, Journalism and Communications, Languages/Philosophy/Communication Studies, Political Science, Sociology/Social Work and Anthropology); a research center (the Mountain West Center); two research labs (the Population Lab and the Spatial Data Lab); the Museum of Anthropology and Utah Public Radio.

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